


Runaway Dragon

by SoulAsunder



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Post Hogwarts AU, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Pre-Relationship, Teacher Draco Malfoy, Teacher Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-14 23:18:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13600542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulAsunder/pseuds/SoulAsunder
Summary: After the war, after the trials Draco was ready to start his life again, but not all of the wizarding world was ready to forgive him. After an incident Draco disappears. No one knows where he went.Harry finds himself suspicious, at first of Draco. Though the more that he thinks about it the more he realizes Draco could be in trouble.Will Harry find Draco? Will Draco even want to be found and return to the wizarding world after everything that had happened?Will two past enemies fall in love?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fiction in a long while. I'm probably a little rusty so bare with me. I'm posting the first chapter to see if there is any interest before continuing. I feel that it might ramble a bit, or lack feeling. Though it is only the beginning. Please tell me what you think with either kudo's or comments. 
> 
> I will update tags as I go along

Everyone had their scars from the war. Inside and out. He supposed that after being spared with his family because of their two faced nature he should have wore them with some confidence and lived the rest of his life a free lucky man. After all someone like him should have been placed in prison along with everyone else. 

But Draco Malfoy disappeared just after they were cleared officially. The Malfoy's spared a second time. Something that he had been doubtful would happen when his family had played this game once before. What was that saying 'Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me'? Well the wizarding word obviously hadn't heard it in his opinion. (Not that he exactly wanted to be in Azkaban.)

It sickened him in an odd way to have his face in the paper, still gaunt and grey faced, having his name dragged through it by some, and others calling him a poor boy forced to do evil deeds. It was what his mother had said- wailed really, when they had brought them about for official investigations. Narcissa also didn't think they would get away from it a second time after being on the loosing side.

Which was another reason why Draco Malfoy disappeared. His parents worded things in just a way that hardly put them at fault. They would never admit that perhaps they were on the wrong side of things and not just the loosing side. He needed to get away from it. He couldn't stand how set in their ways his parents were, or how mixed people could be about him. Treating him as if he was a pitiful victim or a monster just as bad.

What had been the last straw was a trip out just after they had been officially cleared, and having a mother who had lost both her children at Hogwarts come cursing him, both in magic-less swears and wand raised hexes.

There was no real life to be had in the wizarding world. Not as Draco Malfoy at least. Though his face was as recognized as his name.

That very day Draco left. He left the wizarding world, his family, any 'friend' that he had left that wasn't dead or imprisoned. He even left behind his name, and would have left behind his wand if he had ever been given the thing back.

ooOoo

Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world had enough scars of his own. He was quite done with fighting for his life, and there were plenty of other young wizards who felt they hadn't done enough and needed to do more to take his place with the Aurors in righting things. Plenty of sympathizers and rogue wizards to be tracked down and questioned or imprisoned, after all.

That wasn't for Harry anymore. There had been a life time of it already, and he wanted something he'd never really had before. Stability. It was a very enticing thing, and he didn't need much enticing at all.

As soon as he could he took up Grimmauld Place. Sirius had left it to him in his will and while it was a dreary place for someone like Harry it became a comforting task to focus on fixing. Between fixing and finishing his education with tutors and the like, Harry found a comforting life.

Though that didn't stop him from reading the wizarding papers. More than one with his morning coffee. Wanting a bit of peace and being ignorant of his own world were two different things. It was how he'd seen the story of Draco Malfoy's disappearance.

At first Harry was suspicious, all those old feelings from school and the war coming back up. Just like that year he found himself entirely frustrated with Draco's goings on. All the papers were suspicious too. Draco had just been cleared, then attacked by a grieving mother reported the Daily Prophet, then he went missing. They all assumed he was going to disappear and come back with some way to wreak havoc. Just like a Death Eater should do. From some of the papers with a nastier opinion of the Malfoy's they thought Draco should have been Kissed along with his family the moment investigations began.

Harry thought that was a bit harsh, and it was shocking enough to see that he'd tossed those papers in the bin and let go of thoughts of Draco Malfoy.

Mostly that was. Because old habits did die hard, though they became less suspicious of Draco and more suspicious of the circumstances behind his disappearance. Just before he vanished with hardly a trace he was attacked by someone mourning and wanting revenge for her children.

Harry knew plenty of people that would quite like the same on any Death Eater. While most of them were extraordinarily hidden if not captured Draco had tried to go back to a normal life, walking Diagon Alley and the like.

Wouldn't it be such a simple thing to find him out and about, lure him to the side, and capture him?

It seemed that no one had thought of it, or at least so the papers said. There was no investigation into his disappearance, no one looking to see if he met with foul play.

Harry didn't know what the Malfoy's were doing about their missing son, but they kept to themselves mostly, supposedly waiting until things were calmer to re-enter society. Or perhaps they just preferred to be alone visited only by like minded pure-bloods as Harry knew losing a second time wouldn't change their life long beliefs and hatred.

It was coming on a year when Harry finally accepted that it was a bit of an obsession. Only a bit as it wasn't all consuming, he still remodeled Grimmauld Place, finished his education, and even managed himself a job at Hogwarts.

And yet he could not leave the matter of Draco Malfoy alone. He read more and more papers just looking for any word on Draco Malfoy (which there was very very little of), and on occasion would cast one searching charm or another trying to find a hint of his magic. When there was no response sometimes he would worry- honest to Merlin worry that Draco Malfoy was dead.

ooOoo

It was easier than his old self would like to admit to live with Muggles. He didn't think it would be terribly hard to live like one, but he had been taught how to hate them all his life. Yet he found them decent people.

There was a wizard that took your coins and gave you equal valued Muggle money (not that Draco would ever know if that was true but it was a decent amount of Muggle money he was given). For a cost he'd charm you a Muggle life, and give you a spelled piece of jewelry that hid your magic so you couldn't be found. He wasn't a very reputable man, but Draco supposed it wasn't so bad. Death Eaters would hardly trade a wizard life to pretend to be a Muggle, so he wasn't serving very awful people.

With money, and a working identity he found himself a little job. It was the first one of his life and it was awful. His identity came without a job history, and as he didn't know much of anything about Muggle life just then the best he found was a bagger at a shop.

The pay wasn't great, the people could be truly awful, but he needed it. It got him into a room someone was renting out, and food to eat. He missed some of the wizarding treats, but this was good enough. It was better in some respects. No one knew him here, or the evil things that he had done. He got to be a new person. Here he was Thomas Watley. Average boy from Kent, with two parents, both deceased (not that he wished his actually parents were. It was just easier not to have family with his new identity. Less questions. No family home for people to ask about.). No one was angry enough to want to hurt him on sight.

By the end of the year Draco was happy enough. He'd moved up from a bag boy into a book shop that had nicer customers, and he was given free books all the time as the manager liked the employee's well read so they could help the customers in book selections. The books were different, but interesting enough. Muggle history had it's moments, science books were odd and sometimes uncomfortable, but overall, Draco liked being Thomas.

ooOoo

Harry didn’t talk about Draco to anyone. He knew that his friends wouldn’t understand it, after all they had been enemies in school. Draco had been on the wrong side of the war too. Even wore the mark once.

Though he realized even in the short year that it had been, that Draco wasn’t entirely bad. When he thought back on it all, he’d just been given a bad lot, with the misfortune of going the wrong way because of his family. Harry didn’t know what he would have been like if he’d been raised by Lucius Malfoy.

He just thought that Draco like himself, had only been a child, forced into things. Harry remembered how the stress of it all was draining the life from Draco. How grey he looked, how dull and sleepless, and teary eyed. He was a boy from a bad family, but still loved his parents. If he had to take the mark to make them happy, doing a number of things to keep them in the good graces of their dark lord…

Despite how it would make his friends look at him, he couldn’t help but think that Draco deserved the chance to start over. After all, he hadn’t the heart to kill Dumbledore. Harry didn’t think he had the heart to kill anyone at all.

The more he thought about Draco, the more he felt that he didn’t hate him at all, really. Maybe he did once, because he was a bratty little thing, a bit of a bully, but now after everything Harry couldn’t honestly say that he hated Draco Malfoy.

Now all he could honestly say was that he was worried, and the only person he could really say it to was himself.

He decided on the winter holiday that he was going to make his way to the Malfoy manor and see Narcissa and Lucius. Harry didn’t exactly want to keep company with them, but having no news at all about Draco after so long was driving him a bit mad.

Harry thought about sending an owl first, but he kept going back and forth on if he would go or not that he just ended up apparating there suddenly. The manor was still warded against unwanted guests, that Harry could only make it just outside the gate. Though they did have a bell, even all the way down there, and he rang it.

It was surprising that the gate was actually opened, and when he finally reached the large double doors of the house he was greeted by Narcissa. She looked well enough. Primed and regal. Her hair done up, robes carefully arranged. Nothing out of place. It looked outwardly that she wasn’t upset about her son vanishing. Though he knew how people liked this loved their appearances.

“Mr. Potter, I can’t say that this is a very pleasant surprise. What business do you have here?” She asked, head held high, looking down at him from the tops of the steps. Harry didn’t really know what to say at first.

“I spoke for you, you know. Maybe I just wanted to come see that you lot weren’t getting yourself into trouble when I gave my word in court for what you did in the forest.” There. Reasonable. Well, at least a passable reason for being there. Perhaps she wouldn’t like it, but at least it would get him in the door, wouldn’t it?

Narcissa frowned so slightly that he could barely even see it, before she stepped back from the door so that he could enter. “I was just about to have tea, Lucius isn’t here at the moment. He’s not expected to be back until tomorrow, so you’ll have to content yourself with bothering me.”

“Where’d he go? Off meeting with someone about your son?” He was praying that the answer was yes, and that she’d keep on with the conversation of Draco, but she just looked at him sideways before making her way down to the drawing room.

They had a house elf again. Though the little creature was dressed in a pretty maids dress. At least it seemed that they were treating them fairly, as it had been decided house elfs must be treated well. She was just finishing laying out finger sandwiches before disappearing before anyone could say a word to her.

Narcissa sat in one of the plush looking chairs by the tea table, making it her own throne. Harry felt a bit shabby as he set himself in the other one, slouching some. There was only one tea cup, but Harry didn’t mind. He didn’t come for tea.

“As you can see the house isn’t filled with Death Eaters. There isn’t anyone here but myself and the elfs. We are visited often by Aurors, to help with identification of found wizards, and to know their involvement in things. We have been very well behaved.” Narcissa said with an air of boredom. She had no plans of stirring up any trouble, and Harry had kind of figured that. They were followers, not leaders. Voldemort was truly dead, so Harry didn’t think they would be getting into anything foul.

“You two have, but what about Draco? There was a lot of stuff in the paper about him a while back. Said he’d run off to gather people up to keep on with his Death Eater ways.” She may not have taken to the conversation before but Harry wasn’t going to leave until he got some kind of answer.

She sipped her tea, and selected a few sandwiches to place on her little plate. Narcissa didn’t answer right away, but when she did she looked at him coldly. “Draco has always been too sweet, no matter what his father tried to make of him. He would not be off to gather forces to keep up a lost war. War was never in his nature.” She said as she turned to look out the large window besides the table. It had a pretty view so it was lovely for an afternoon tea.

“He wanted more than anything to go back to school for one more year. To apprentice in potions. The last I heard from him was when he came home after trying to buy potions supplies to practice his craft. He was attacked in Diagon Alley, and the next morning he was gone.” He hadn’t even come down to breakfast. She had waited until lunch before going to scold him out of bed for pouting. Only he hadn’t been in bed. His clothes had been missing, he’d taken a few valuable things, and all his savings from his allowances, and was gone.

“My son has left the wizarding world. Where he has gone, and what he is doing I don’t know, but it is nothing for you to put your nose in. He left with his things, but not a wand, and if he was using magic I would be able to find him. As I can’t you can be assured that he is doing nothing for you to bother about. I’d like for you to leave.” Narcissa stood, clearly put off her appetite being reminded of her son.

For all that they were, she was still a mother. She loved her child, and to know nothing of where he went or how he was killed her. Harry wanted to protest, to hear more, but she was already walking away, snapping her fingers to summon a house elf as she went.

“Come with us, Mr. Potter. The mistress shouldn’t be bothered.” A house elf instructed as he pushed on Harry’s leg to get him moving. He got up and let himself be nudged out of the house by the little elf. He hadn’t learned too much. He did learn though that Draco apparently left of his own will. Took his things, and left without a word to even his mother.

  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw someone book marked this, and here you go. You were the main motivation for this second chapter. Also I was so very bored today that this happened. I wrote it and then immediately gave it a look. I caught a couple little mistakes, but please forgive if I missed more.

“Tom! God, you wouldn’t believe what happened!” Lana said as she hurried into the break room where Draco was finishing up one of the new fiction novels that they just got in. Some best seller that he thought was completely over dramatic. He was happy to put it down.

“Let’s see, another fight with the land lady?” Draco asked, not entirely amused. Lana was always having some kind of fight with her landlord. At first they seemed very funny, things that Draco had never thought of happening before, but now it was getting a bit tiresome. If she had so many problems with her, Draco didn’t know why she didn’t just leave.

“No, listen, so I was coming down Willow, and all of a sudden there’s this dog in the way! Big shaggy thing! I was so startled I swerved on my bicycle, and went over a rubbish bin!” Well that would certainly explain why she was red faced, wild haired, and a little filthy. Though to be fair, Lana had these unmanageable curls so she was always a little wild haired.

He still wasn’t too interested in her story, but she’d been good to him, so he nodded a long and made sympathetic noises. He’d be more worried if she actually looked hurt, just a little scuffed. “At least you’re in one piece and you didn’t hit the dog. Go wash up, and put on your smock so we can get to work.” She huffed and rolled her eyes but went back to the wash room all the same.

At least someones day had been eventful. Draco had woken up alone, tidied, ate a small breakfast, and came straight to work. It was a Wednesday, which for some reason was always a slow day for books. He’d seen a total of four customers, and spent most of the time reading.

Sometimes he missed his old life. The way it was before Voldemort came back and he thought he needed to be something tough and take the mark. He missed the little things. Potions class, a day in the library… magic. He settled into being Thomas Watley but sometimes he was wistful.

Draco put on his own smock again and set his book in his cubby. It was odd to him that they didn’t even get a lock for their things, but Mrs. Asher always said, if they felt the need to hide something they shouldn’t bring it to work. He didn’t think that she understood that sometimes people were thieves. With a sigh he readied himself to go out and walk the aisles of books, straightening up and seeing maybe four more customers before going home alone.

ooOoo

It had been two weeks since he saw Narcissa, two weeks of half planning lessons. He was only a teachers assistant, until he could take over the DADA position from the temp who was filling in. Who had been filling in since Harry was doing his eighth year. Every day he tried not to, but every day he found himself casting one spell or another searching out Draco.

Two weeks and every one gave no reaction. Nothing was working and it hadn’t worked since he started this when he found out Draco was gone.

He kept telling himself that he could stop now. Draco left because he wanted to leave, because he felt unwelcome. Harry had no business with it now. Draco wasn’t in trouble, he wasn’t hurt… physically. And yet every day he cast another.

What was he even going to do if he actually did find Draco? Was he going to get the location, apparate there and – Harry honestly couldn’t say what after that. The last person Draco would want to see would be him, right? Draco probably hadn’t had a thought about him in all the time he was gone, and him turning up would be like … well like Harry showing up at his house unannounced and very uninvited.

 _What on earth is wrong with me? I need to just forget about all this, I need to forget about Draco Malfoy. He’s gone because he wants to be, there’s no reason for me to be invested in this anymore._ Harry thought to himself as he scribbled more of his lesson down. After all the only reason that he hadn’t let this go was because he thought that Draco could be dead somewhere. Dragged off after being attacked in Diagon Alley.

 _You’re being so stupid, Harry! Get it together._ Though it did bother him that he couldn’t find Draco’s magic. He understood him not showing himself in public but to run away even from his family? To hide himself from them all? Unlike Harry the wizarding world was all he knew. Draco hadn’t ever been a part of Muggle society.

Just like that, Harry gave himself a new reason to worry and obsess. Draco was alone for the first time in a world he didn’t know at all really. Would he be struggling to eat? Would he be in some different kind of trouble, too stubborn to come home? Harry always thought of Draco as stubborn. Stubborn and proud.

The searching spells went from a once daily occurrence to twice daily.

ooOoo

Everyday had become much like the one before, so much so that in his routine, Draco often found himself in his own head and barely focused on the things around him. Some days he would leave work and end up home with hardly any recollection of the in between.

He was still in his own head when he let himself in the door, hardly realized that the window was open. Hardly understood that someone had broken into the flat until it was too late.

It was a whirlwind of moments, one moment he was shrugging off his coat to hang it up in the hall and the next he was being slammed viciously into a wall. His head knocked into it before he was being tossed aside. Away from the door, he realized later once he woke up, so that the assailant could get away…

He didn’t see who it was, couldn’t tell a thing because the toss had sent his head whacking into the corner of the wall. Draco was unconscious.

In the abuse- being thrown around, the chain of the necklace that hid his magic snapped and fell away.

ooOoo

Harry had done a spell just that morning to search out Draco’s magic. He would have liked to try finding him by blood but well, he didn’t have any and he was pretty certain that neither did his parents. He was also very certain that even if they did they wouldn’t have given it to him.

With all his new worries now, Harry cast another, just after his early dinner. It was just one to find the location of Draco’s magic. Harry knew it well enough. It had been used against him after all. Harry had used his against Draco too.

He was very ready for another disappointment. Harry was only halfheartedly casting, mind already thinking of the next spell he would try in the morning- only to have sparks fly and a location be lighted blue on the map he cast over.

Draco was still in England, so close to Grimmauld place too! How had Draco been so close and Harry never once know? Well he had been at Hogwarts for most of the time still! Harry’s head was spinning as he stared at the map. What should he do? Tell Draco’s mother? Send them an owl? It was the only way he knew to reach them and that would take longer than going himself.

That was his whole reasoning for grabbing his shoes and slipping them on. It would take too long to write the letter and send it off with his grey barred owl. Far too long with him only fifteen minutes away from Grimmauld Place.

He didn’t even think about apparating. He just left his house and hurried down the street, casting another spell on the searching stone he’d bought a few months back. It was an oblong stone with a carving at one end and it would point the users way to what they sought.

After all this time thinking about Draco, wondering where he was, Harry was about to see him. It was going to take no time at all before he was confronted with his former schoolmate. Former enemy. Harry couldn’t imagine what he was meant to say when he finally saw him, but it wasn’t even a concern honestly.

Harry was led to a building much like Grimmauld Place. Newer looking, and obviously a Muggles place, split into two flats. Harry let himself into the front door of the building and followed the stones directions up the stairs to flat A. It was odd. The door was cracked open. Not the safest thing in the world.

“Draco?” Harry called as he pushed the door opened further. He didn’t understand what he was seeing at first, catching glimpse of a shoe, and then the other… still on feet-

“Draco!” Harry shouted as he hurried in, dropping onto the floor besides the fallen body that was with no mistake, Draco Malfoy. Someone had found him first. Someone had found him living here, hiding his magic, without a wand and – the man that Harry pulled into his grasp groaned, causing Harry to sigh with relief.

Draco opened his eyes with a wince. His head was splitting, and he hadn’t yet caught up to what was happening. Until he focused on the face above him and found Harry Potter staring right at him. He pulled away quickly, back up against the wall and eyes wide. Draco’s hand shot to his head feeling around and finding two lumps. No blood thankfully, and then his hand slid to his throat finding his necklace missing. He had never taken it off. Not even to shower.

“What are you doing here?” Draco hissed. The last person that he thought would come after him was Harry Potter. Though maybe he had become an Auror like everyone thought he would. Perhaps they had sent him to search for Draco, as they had been schoolmates. It was a good busy work task for a new Auror wasn’t it?

Harry looked at him with a slightly open mouth which was getting quite irritating. “Cat got your tongue, Potter?” Draco tried to snark though it didn’t come out with the same bite as it used to. His head hurt and he was caught out… and he wasn’t really the same boy that he had used to be. The bully, the Death Eater.

“You were on the floor, what happened to you?” Harry managed to say, not really sure how to explain that for the longest time now he had been looking for him. He didn’t know how to explain why… Draco squinted at him, trying to figure out if this was really happening to him.

Harry was wearing what looked like pajama bottoms and a sweater with the letter H knit into the front of it. Certainly not what he would expect an Auror on a job to be wearing. So why was he here?

“Someone was in the flat, breaking in I think. I got a little battered in their escape.” He glanced into the living room and couldn’t see anything missing, but it did look wrong. It looked as if someone had been searching through it. Which someone had. Looking for small things of value they could fit in their pockets.

Harry watched as Draco got up, and as he picked up the necklace that was broken on the floor. He understood that that must have been what was hiding Draco, and when it broke left him open to searching spells and charms. Harry had just been lucky enough to cast another one right when it happened. If he had had the self restraint to wait until the morning, would Draco have been hidden again?

“Go away, Potter. I’m not in the mood to deal with you.” If Harry could find him, it wouldn’t be long until someone else did. He didn’t have any idea how to fix his charmed necklace. He wasn’t sure that if he reconnected the broken link and slipped it back around his neck that the enchantment would still be in place. He wasn’t sure how the enchantment was done either so even if he had a wand he couldn’t redo it.

He also didn’t have the same kind of money that he did when he left. There wasn’t any way that he could buy a new one quickly.

His parents would be coming for him next. Draco had a lot of mental preparing to do with a head injury to boot, he didn’t need to fuss with the Golden boy.

“Draco… I’m sorry.” He wasn’t sure what for but it seemed a time to apologize. Perhaps for tracking him down when he didn’t want to be found? Or maybe he was just sorry that Draco’s … whatever it was he was doing was ruined now. “Do you have any medicine to take for that? Any ice?” He had a bump on his forehead and from the way Draco touched the back of his head, he had another one there. A bit of ice for the swelling and some medicine for the pain would be best. Since neither had any potions on them.

Draco glared when Harry didn’t disappear when he told him to, and just kept talking. Merlin- Harry never did stop bothering him. He should have expected that. Harry didn’t even let him rot away in Azkaban.

“There’s some paracetamol in the bathroom, and ice in the kitchen, alright? You can bugger off.” This is not how he wanted to spend his last hours of freedom if he was lucky. Soon enough his mother or father- perhaps unfortunately both- would show up at his door and drag him home.

He was likely going to spend the rest of his days secluded there. The wizarding world didn’t want him, and his parents certainly weren’t going to have any son of theirs off living like a muggle.

Harry didn’t leave to his disappointment. He just looked around the place, and then annoyingly invited himself further into the shared flat. He found himself a rag and some ice and brought it wrapped up to Draco. “Just put this on while I get you the paracetamol.”

To be honest, Harry was a bit impressed with Draco. It didn’t look like this was his own place, there was a lot of evidence of someone else living here. The second bedroom for one, that he found when looking for the bathroom. But Draco was living in a comfortable place, and it looked like he was keeping himself fed and clothed. He even learned Muggle medicine it seemed.

At least he didn’t have to feel like he ruined all of this. That burglar did it, when he threw Draco around and broke his necklace. Harry just… didn’t help the situation.

Draco sighed as he took the pills and water glass that Harry gave him. At least Harry was being a little useful and slightly less annoying. He took the pills, and then laid down on his side, neck on the arm of the sofa so that he wasn’t pressing anything tender.

And as he should have expected, Harry came and set himself down right next to him in the space besides his feet. Draco sighed again.

“Have you come to fetch me home? No one said after the trials that I wasn’t allowed to go off on my own.” Draco said after a quiet moment. He should have been able to do anything he wanted after being pardoned. Even if that something was disappearing. He didn’t think that anyone but his parents would care that he was gone, but it seemed he was wrong.

Harry didn’t answer at first, but then he said, “I honestly don’t know what I came to do. No one asked me to do anything.” He said it so softly, that Draco looked at him, to find him looking rather embarrassed. It was… odd.

“No one asked you to look for me, and yet you’re here. Why?” Draco couldn’t let it go now. What business could Harry have with him now? Surely he would be happy to never have Draco in his sight, and never have to think about him. The awful Slytherin that brought the Death Eaters to Hogwarts, who helped bring Dumbledore to his death…

“You know me, Draco. Can’t ever leave you be when you seem to be up to something...” Harry started. It had been what happened their sixth year, when Draco had been getting sicker and sicker, stressed by the task he’d been given. Harry remembered the bathroom now, and how he had almost killed Draco.

“I thought maybe you were dead, or hurt. You disappeared after being attacked, so I thought maybe someone got a second shot at you and took it. I’ve been using charms to try and find you and -”

Draco interrupted him, “you were worried about me?” His voice pitched with incredulity. Harry Potter was worried about him? Harry- Harry came looking for him because he thought that Draco could be in trouble? Draco didn’t want to believe it, but the pink on Harry’s cheeks told him that he was right.

“You’re worried about me. I think I hit my head harder than I thought,” Draco murmured, pressing the ice to his forehead and shutting his eyes. Harry gave him a sharp look that he knew was lost when he saw Draco’s eyes closed. His expression softened as he shifted.

“I’ll admit that I was worried… I mean you disappeared. Anything could have happened, and you never came back to school with the rest of us who didn’t get to finish. Why don’t you come back now? No one has said anything in the papers about you in months. I think it’s time to come back. You could come to Hogwarts, become an assistant teacher for potions. The position hasn’t been permanently filled.” Harry knew as well as Draco that he wasn’t going to get to stay now. His parents would come for him now that his necklace was broken. He was going back to the wizarding world, and while Draco thought he would become a hermit, Harry thought he should have a life.

Draco could hardly believe that Harry was asking him to do that. He didn’t think that anyone would be letting him get hired at Hogwarts. Even if McGonagall took pity on him and let him as a former student, surely there would be so many unhappy parents who would refuse… Draco told Harry as much.

“Well, I’ll speak for you. Tell everyone who will listen that I recommend you. I mean I’m the assistant teacher for the defense against the dark arts class. Who can say anything about you coming to school to teach when I’m there to watch you. Not that I’m going to watch you. I don’t think you’d be bad for it.”

He certainly wasn’t going to be like Snape. It seemed to Harry that Draco was different. Softer, and not at all like the bully he had been. He wasn’t going to be turning on children and turning into their worst nightmare. Harry thought that Draco would be quite happy to be back into potions every day, and eager enough to have a life of his own in a world he was born to that he’d never do anything to have someone question if he belonged again.

“I don’t understand why you’re being like this.” The last thing he expected of Harry was to speak for him yet again. He already spoke in the trials, helping ensure the Malfoy freedom. Now he was going to speak for him again and get him a career? A career in something that he actually loved. Draco couldn’t help but think again that he had truly hit his head to hard.

“Well, because you deserve a chance. We were just children then, and we’ve been through too much already. It’s time to do things right, and I think that you’re going to.” Harry answered with a soft smile. Draco looked at him for a long while before shifting his focus to the wall and just nodding.

It was time to do things differently, and Draco would take the chance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This went on a little long. Especially with choosing a wand. I hope it's not too boring!

 

 

 

 

Harry got Draco home to his parents and then spent the next near month getting him the position at Hogwarts. If Draco didn’t have this Harry was near certain that he would either run off again, or make a hermit out of himself at Malfoy manor.

He was right about the parents being up in arms about letting another ex-Death Eater become a teacher at Hogwarts. Even if Draco was wildly different than Snape. It was made clear after his death that he was working for Dumbledore all along, even when yet again it seemed that he wasn’t.

Though people had become less forgiving about these sorts of things. They had suffered far too much, and Harry had to have a lot of meetings to explain to people that Draco had just been a child trying to please parents. The one people that he truly always had to love him. Having to explain how difficult a situation it had to have been, trying to gain the favor of a mad man to protect his parents.

He thought that it might have helped to recount the time of his sixth year when he found Draco in the bathroom sobbing over it all. Though then he would have had to explain how they had attacked each other. How Harry had nearly killed him then. And he still wasn’t certain anyone would listen to that when it was that same year Draco brought Death Eaters into the castle.

Hermione and Ron couldn’t understand why he was doing this. He had kept the Malfoy’s out of Azkaban already, they thought he should be done with it. Ron was especially against it all, not that he tried to make Harry’s task of getting Draco a job any harder than it was. They were his best friends, and if Harry wanted to do this, they tried to trust him. Even if they didn’t understand.

It took almost a whole month before McGonagall gave Harry a letter of employment to send to Draco. He sent it off with Greylock along with a personal letter for Draco. He found himself terribly excited to finally have something good to send to Draco after all these weeks. He hadn’t really known what to say to him when he didn’t have much good news, and he certainly didn’t want to tell him about all the people that had needed convincing to allow him to work for the school.

ooOoo

Draco would admit that he found himself feeling rather let down. Harry had helped him pack, and helped him home… and then left him there at the mercy of his parents who were the farthest thing from happy.

His mother was furious with him. Furious that he would run away without a bit of word, that he would be gone for so long without telling her what had become of him.

His father was more disappointed and hardly had anything to say. Draco knew that he was upset that he had turned away not only from the rest of wizarding society but from his own family. That he chose to live like a Muggle. He supposed that was his most grievous offense against his father who still held all his old views.

Harry had left him to that, and then a week went by and then another. Draco was fairly certain that Harry wasn’t going to do a thing for him now.

And then the owl arrived for him. Draco had been taking a walk that morning, even if the snow was still sticking to the ground. It wasn’t as bothersome as a breakfast with his parents. With a mother who still shot passive aggressive remarks at him, and a father who was barely speaking. They may have wanted him home but they knew how to hold on to things.

The owl came down to perch on the branches of a tree, and waited until Draco came close to drop the two letters into his hands. He had half expected only one. A letter from Harry finally telling him that he couldn’t get him a position at Hogwarts like he had said he would.

But there were two letters. One addressed from Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The other from Harry Potter. Draco was suddenly filled with nerves. Even with a letter from the Headmistress himself he couldn’t be sure that these letters were any sort of good news. He looked to the owl he assumed must have been Harry’s and then held out his arm. He would have shooed him off to the small owlery if only he didn’t think that their eagle owls would bully him. They didn’t like strangers in their keep.

The owl obliged if only because he thought he might get something good to eat. Draco hurried back up the path that he had made through the snow and into the house. He ignored the house elf that tried to stop him and fussed at the wet foot prints he left behind him. Draco wanted desperately to read the letters before anything else.

He carried the owl into his room and set him down on the back of the chair at his desk. He rummaged around for the biscuits he’d hidden in his desk before giving on to the bird who didn’t seem all the interested but took it politely.

He decided first to read McGonagall’s letter. If she was informing him personally that he was not going to have the job, he would have Harry’s letter of apologies and hopefully a second plan for his future.

Draco had to read the letter twice before he really accepted what was happening to him.

Minerva had very wordily said that he was being given a probationary hire. If he could make it through the end of the school year without incident, he would be taking over full time for the potions position at the beginning of the next.

He could hardly believe it. He was going to be an addressed as Assistant Professor Malfoy. He was going to have his own chambers in the castle, and starting a career in something that he loved in a place that was safe. The parents had to have been convinced to let him teach there, so no one would be coming to hex him in the castle.

Draco hurried to tear open Harry’s letter so he could respond quickly with his thank yous.

_Draco,_

_I’m sorry that I didn’t send a letter before. I just didn’t want to discourage you with all the… well people really weren’t happy at first. McGonagall had been willing to give you another chance but the parents were harder to convince. But I did it! I really did it and to welcome you into your new position I would like to take you to Diagon Alley this weekend._

_You will need a new wand I expect, and I doubt you have left the house to Ollivandars since you’ve been home. I’m sure that you will also need new robes, professional clothes for our newest teaching assistant._

_With best wishes,_

_Harry Potter_

He was speechless. Draco could still hardly believe that Harry was acting this way with all the history between them. Draco would admit that he hadn’t been very kind to really anyone. His parents- his father had raised him with such a sense of superiority and all their hatreds that he had pushed everyone away. He hadn’t even been very kind to his own friends who those that were left hadn’t said one word to him in all this time.

Yet here was Harry Potter, someone that Draco had said to hate the most, who he’d fought against, and tormented in school. He was here doing more for him than anyone had. Not even his parents had done so much good for him. All that they had taught him from the minute he was old enough to understand had only made his life poor.

He scribbled back with long swirling letters just filled with gratefulness. Draco could hardly wait to start fresh.

ooOoo

Greylock came back to him late that evening with a letter. He caught himself smiling as he took it up and set Greylock on his perch. He was a bit of a clingy thing, and liked best to stay in Harry’s chambers than to go to the owlery with all the others.

It struck him as he read Draco’s name across the folded letter as he broke the wax seal that Draco had surprisingly graceful writing compared to his own chicken scratch.

  


_Harry,_

_I can’t express how much this means to me. It’s a different thing to feel so grateful, I don’t think I could ever tell you how much I appreciate this, or return the favor._

_You’re right that I haven’t gone to Ollivandars. I honestly don’t know if I should, as I’m not certain he would like to sell to me after everything. Mother was going to invite a Romanian wand maker to the manor to show me some wands in hopes of finding me a new one, but I didn’t want to bother with that._

_If you’d like to take me I will meet you at Ollivandars door Saturday at noon. After we will have lunch, and it will be my treat. It is the very least that I could do, so please don’t refuse. I hope that I don’t cause you much trouble when we are out in Diagon alley. You’ve done too much for me as it is._

_Thank you, and well wishes_

_Draco Malfoy_

It was a little sad to read it, and see how less confident Draco had become. Harry liked some of the changes to his character but at times it seemed a little that Draco was defeated. It was good that he was softer, but to think that he was beaten down so much was hard. To become open-minded, accepting and kinder was all he wanted from the other.

Though he could hardly blame him. They’d all gone through some startling changes. It was what war did to everyone, but they were young still, and Draco had a promising career ahead of him.

Harry was sure that he’d gain more of his confidence back if he could just see that he could build a life for himself still. That not everyone would hate him for the mistakes he made as a child. They were mostly children still. They were only barely reaching twenty, there was time.

He didn’t think Draco expected a return letter so he readied himself for bed, letting Greylock do as he wished. He had to be up bright and early tomorrow after all. He had work until Saturday.

  


  


Saturday seemed to take forever to arrive, perhaps because Harry was so excited for it. He couldn’t say why, but he was excited to go to Diagon Alley, to take Draco to get his new wand and things for his new job. It was probably because he invested so much of himself in Draco that he was ready to see this whole things end. To see Draco back and settled.

At least that was what he told himself, and would keep telling himself. Harry wasn’t really about close self examination.

He used the floo, though he thought he should have apparated instead seeing as he was running slightly late. It had been his day off but that didn’t stop one of his young admiring first years from stopping by to ‘ask him a question on the homework’. He shooed her off as fast as he could but still he was ten minutes behind.

Harry made a brisk pace to Ollivandars, finding Draco waiting outside looking slightly pale and on guard. He was waiting out front, with his back to the passersby, trying to disguise himself he expected. Trying not the he hexed again. Harry’s heart ached as he called out to him and hurried closer.

“I’m sorry about that, got caught up with a student. Are you ready to go in?” Harry asked, nodding towards the door to the left of them. No one seemed to be inside from what Harry saw of the window, he couldn’t even see old man Ollivandar. A slow day it seemed. Though the school year had already started so that was reasonable.

Draco swallowed slightly and looked to the door as well. He expected to be shouted out of the store, after all it was his home that Ollivandar had been held and tortured in by Voldemort. Draco my not have laid a hand on him, but he certainly didn’t help the poor man either.

Though he supposed that they must, Ollivandars was the best place for wands, the most reasonably priced, and they were already outside. “I’m as ready as I will be.” Draco answered before moving to get the door and let Harry in before him.

Harry tried to catch the door to let Draco in first, but he was beaten to it and stepped inside with a thanks. It had been a while since he was in this store. It had a very distinct smell, that was pleasant and the inside was warm and homey with the wall to wall shelves of wand boxes.

They had barely taken a few steps in when Ollivandar came out ready to greet them before seeing Draco behind Harry. He wasn’t angry, but merely puzzled to see him there, especially with Harry Potter.

Draco held his breath as he waited for the shouting, or perhaps even a hex, but Ollivandar only gave them a soft smile.

“If I expected anything today it was not Harry Potter and Mr. Malfoy coming into my shop. What is it that I can do for you? It seems to me that I have already sold you boys two magnificent wands.” He came and stopped at the counter smoothing his hands across it. Draco came closer hesitantly.

Harry wasn’t so hesitant, he never thought Ollivandar would refuse to sell to Draco because of what happened at the manor. “Draco lost his wand, Mr. Ollivandar. Though I don’t think it would have been a good wand for him anymore seeing as I had won it.”

Where the wand was now Harry didn’t actually know. He’d lost track of it with everything that went on. He supposed it might have gotten gathered up and stored with all the wands of the deceased that couldn’t be paired with a body. Harry didn’t want to have them go looking through that box anyhow.

Ollivandar gave that some thought with an agreeing nod. He was the one that had declared that Draco’s wand had chosen Harry after all. The wand would not work so well for Draco after having been won away from him.

“May I please see another hawthorn and unicorn tail hair wand?” Draco asked politely. It had been what his wand was made of and before it was wrestled away from him worked quite well. He thought that it had understood him.

He was immediately tutted at with a shake of Ollivandar’s head. “You are a great deal different than when you were eleven my boy! A hawthorn and unicorn tail hair wand isn’t likely to pick you a second time. Hold still.” And Draco did. It was like he froze to the spot as he watch Ollivandar run his hand over rows of boxes before slipping one out.

The box was opened for him and held out for Draco to take with a grave expression on his face. He hardly wanted to touch the wand but it didn’t seem like he had much choice. Draco had barely brushed his fingers over it before it was being snatched away.

“No not that one thank goodness.” Harry looked just as confused as Draco did, but they both understood that in some way, Ollivandar was testing him. Giving him wands he thought might go well with a bad nature, if his expression was anything to go off of when he came back with a second one. He was waiting to see if a wand he made and felt would go dark would chose Draco for that very purpose.

Though with each of the seven that he was brought with those expressions he was barely allowed to do more than touch it before Ollivandar was snatching them away. Draco didn’t even get to hold them in hand.

The next box that he was brought was a thing of hawthorn and dragon heart string. It was highly polished, with a delicately carved handle. It was shorter than the one he had before, but it was beautiful and Draco liked it on sight.

He picked it up and turned it over in his had before trying to cast a simple spell. He only wanted to cast the lumos spell, and instead the whole wand shot out of his hand and wedged itself between a few boxes. Ollivandar tsked and left it there for now as he went to fetch another one.

“It’s alright, Draco. I caused a lot more mess finding my wand.” Harry tried to assure him when Draco looked a little stricken at the wand flying out of his hand. Draco remembered trying only two wands when he came to the shop. Both of them had been rather good wands, though Ollivandar had said the first was a little dull in his hands so he gave him a second one to try.

Ollivandar came back with a smile, and presented him with a wildly decorative wand. The handle looked like a mess of roots, twining around each other to make a sort of cage, and it was hallow between the gaps of the roots. It was smooth and glossy, and a deep rich brown.

“This would be willow and dragon heart string.” Ollivandar said as he motioned for Draco to hurry and take it. It was a beautiful wand surely, but he already had a feeling when he took it that it was going to reject him.

And he was right as he raised it and had it shoot off sparks without him even trying to cast a spell. “Perhaps not dragon heart string then.” Ollivandar decided as he took it back and came back with another of willow.

This one was odd and Draco was intrigued buy it. The handle was a bit bulbous, while the rest of it spiraled slightly. It reminded him of a unicorn horn. Especially considering that it was such a pale wood for willow, obviously given only a clear polish.

“Go on. Willow is a good wood for a lad such as yourself.” They were naturals at healing, and good wands for those who were insecure. It seemed to Ollivandar that that was what had become of the proud Malfoy heir. It was not such a bad thing in his opinion, as now he had room to grow into a better man than he had been, and a willow wand would guide him in that. If the wand so chose to led it’s healing properties to him.

Draco was hesitant but he picked it up. At first nothing happened and so he thought to cast another spell. Another simple one from school. He only meant to make the box of the wand levitate, and instead cast it ablaze. Ollivandar took the wand back with a huff. He was finding it particularly difficult to find a wand for him. He didn’t much like that.

He disappeared into the back for a long while leaving Draco to feel a bit defeated. “Perhaps I don’t deserve a wand. Not one of them has chosen me.” Not even the ones that he thought Ollivandar deemed bad.

“You’re different now than you were, and you’re not yet who you might be in future. It’s difficult to find a wand that truly suits you, wouldn’t you think? Don’t worry. Ollivandar’s wands are the best around. He’s bound to have one that will chose you.”

“This may be a truly unfitting wand but I would like to try it nonetheless. Rowan wood and a phoenix feather. My son has brought these to me.” He had started to train his son to take over this business, and the boy had taken to exploring and searching for items that possess the right qualities for wand making. This was a wand that he had brought the pieces for and Ollivandar had put together himself.

Rowan was a good wood, a protective thing. He had also never sold a wand of rowan to someone who would go bad. Though they were a duelist sort of wand, but not always. He chose to bring out a Rowan for the pure fact alone that Draco had been chosen by the Elder Wand once. Even if the boy had not realized it.

Phoenix feather was a trick thing for wands, but it was good for a wide array of magics. The feather was what worried him in handing over this wand. They were picky, and they didn’t take to everyone. He had only sold four of them after all.

Still he thought that they might be a match for Draco. If two willow had rejected him, perhaps it wasn’t healing that was needed at the core of the wizard but protection.

Draco opened the box himself this time, admiring the wand that he found inside. It was a bit long. Almost twelve inches Draco would say. It was a deep warm color, with lovely little blossoms carved into the handle, and light grooves running up the shaft. He noticed that he had yet to be shown a plain wand, that they all had something decorative about them. But he didn’t complain. He had always like the pretty things.

He held the wand high and as soon as he did it glowed with a stunning warmth, and shot out a shower off soft white petals. The smell was lovely honestly and Draco couldn’t help a little laugh with Harry who clapped him on the shoulder.

“See! I told you that you would find your wand.” Harry beamed at him, this really couldn’t have come too soon. Draco had looked upset enough, and Harry didn’t think many more rejections would have made for a good attitude to find a wand.

Ollivandar took the wand back to write up the receipt while Draco rubbed his hand, still feeling the warmth from the wand. Being chosen this time had an even grate feeling than when he was eleven and just expected that he would be chosen right away, because he was from such a prestigious family and no doubt he would be a genius at all this.

“Isn’t your wand a phoenix core?” Draco asked after receiving the bag that held his wand and saying good bye to Ollivandar.

Harry smiled at him and gave a nod. “Holly and phoenix feather, though not from the same bird. Fawkes only gave two feathers.” Still it was a nice coincidence he thought, that they’d both have phoenix feathers.

Draco held the bag to his chest as they walked outside. Diagon Alley was much the same as it had always been. There were plenty of people around being a weekend. Lots of people off from work, taking a day off for errands and things.

Some of them looked their way, but Draco didn’t see many angry faces, mostly just perplexed ones. It seemed being out with Harry Potter left people too puzzled at the pair to be angry enough to try and hex him.

He was glad.

“So where is it that you’re taking me to lunch, Draco?” Harry asked glancing around at the shops. He supposed that he needed a few things too now that they were there. Mainly just some new quills and ink wells. He did a lot more writing than he thought he would as a professor. Though as the assistant to one he was left with a lot more of the paper work.

“It depends on what you’d like to eat. There’s a new cafe that opened up down the road, or we could have pub food at the Leaky Cauldron. I would prefer the cafe if you’re wondering.” Which he was sure Harry was so he answered before he could ask. The Leaky Cauldron was nice, but it was pub food, so a bit more on the greasy side. He was in the mood for a nice soup or a sandwich, maybe even both.

Harry gave him a laugh at having his question answered before he could ask it. “To the cafe it is then. I actually haven’t been and it’s been here a whole year.” A lot of new places had sprung up around then. People wanted new starts, good things. Businesses were going up, marriages were started, children born. Life was booming now that they were free of Voldemort.

Draco liked Harry’s laugh. He was quite enjoying being able to just walk down the street with him, and enjoy his company. If he had been different when he was eleven, they might have been friends all along. Draco had certainly wanted to be, even if at first it was because of his fathers wishes and the fact that Harry was famous.

Though now it seemed that they could be friends just to know each other, with no motives or shallow feelings. Already it was more of what a friendship should be than he’d ever had.

  



End file.
